Yesterday was a long and exhausting travel day.  Very early start before leaving the ship.  Passports stamped, marking our official entry into the EU (apparently if you are on a ship overnight, it doesn’t count).  We took a taxi to Barcelona-Sants station, waving at familiar landmarks such as Montjuic and the Sagrada.  It was very strange to spend such a short amount of time in Barcelona.  We boarded a very crowded train; disconcertingly, a woman with a huge and very hairy dog sat opposite.  The dog blocked the aisle almost completely.  Luckily after Girona, the conductor must have found them somewhere less disruptive to sit, because dog and owner disappeared for the rest of the journey, much to everyone’s relief.

A train change at Narbonne in France, and we were now heading west to Toulouse.  I had a brief glimpse of the turrets of Carcassone as we passed.  We were seeing orderly vineyards with dilapidated stone farmhouses.

During the journey, my phone pinged with the key safe code for our AirBNB; we could check in any time.  We’d already received lengthy, multi step instructions accompanied by many photos.  We prepared ourselves to play the AirBNB-O check-in game, at which we have had some practice.  This one was going to test us.

First we had to find the key safe.  It was in a different street, on a gate at no 4.  Ian couldn’t match the photo to any of the buildings.  I stood in the shade with the cases, feet aching, while he paced up and down hunting.  Finally he spotted the elusive key safe.  Control 1 achieved!  Opening the safe, we extracted a fob, which would permit entry to the “green door at no 12”.  This was around the corner and down the street a way.  The photo could have matched several of the buildings, but eventually Ian spotted the house number, and beckoned me forward.  Control 2 achieved!

After opening the green door, we had to go down a corridor, down the stairs, across the courtyard, down another corridor, across a second courtyard, and up the outside stairs.  Are you still with me?  Once at the top of the outside stairs, we had to cross an elevated walkway, then find the apartment door on the left (no number).  Control 3 achieved!  Now we had to extract the door keys from the second key safe, then wrestle with the three keys to open two deadlocks.  After some turning and tugging, finally the door opened, and we fell inside with relief.  Finish!  A short but tricky course.

The remainder of the day was spent washing clothes, washing ourselves, reacquainting ourselves with the vagaries of French supermarkets, and sitting on top of the portable fans in the apartment.  It is cute with some character, and quite comfortable. It has wooden shutters and exposed wooden beams, in the Toulousain style. The upstairs bedroom is accessed by a set of rickety stairs, which we have decided we don’t need to bother using.  It is cool after about 10pm, and in the morning, but by mid afternoon it’s too hot to do anything much.

Today was always planned as a catch-up day; Ian has lots of work to do over the next few days, so we only have sightseeing plans for every second day.  We were both exhausted last night, with a busy schedule and the heat catching up with us.  It was after 3pm today before I could summon enough energy to go for a walk.

We’re staying in an area called Les Chalets, just north of the Capitol district, and just south of the famous Canal du Midi.  I visited the Jardin Japonais, only a few minutes walk west.  This lovely park contains a traditional Japanese garden, complete with teahouse, vermilion bridge, raked garden, bonsai trees, maples, a torii gate, and huge fish in the large pond.  I was hoping for turtles but didn’t see any; however I did find a dragon!  It was nice to be temporarily transported back to Japan, although I’ve barely come to grips with being in France. It’s school holidays and the park was full of picnickers and kids playing.

I strolled along a tree-lined section of the Canal du Midi, enjoying the shade and the water.  I didn’t see any narrow boats, just a few people fishing on the bank.  At Minimes I spotted a set of locks – quite a difference in water level, and no doubt hard work for anyone taking a boat through them.  I was feeling the heat again by now; time to retreat for another day.